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Cristian Roldan’s progress has been a highlight of the season
Matt Pentz is an award-winning sports reporter who writes weekly columns on Sounders FC for Prost Amerika. Matt’s work also appears on the Guardian, ESPNFC, FourFourTwo and Yahoo
Cristian Roldan is the high point of Sounders season
By Matt Pentz
Cristian Roldan’s fourth-minute goal was the decisive moment of Seattle’s 1-0 victory over rival Portland on Saturday afternoon at CenturyLink Field. But it was merely the flashpoint in what was yet another standout performance by the third-year midfielder out of the University of Washington.
CenturyLink was still buzzing after the raucous pregame buildup when Chad Marshall nodded on Nicolas Lodeiro’s corner kick into the scrum, where Roldan was able to finish despite being bear-hugged by Timbers defender Zarek Valentin.
“(I was) just trying to do my job and in right place at the right time,” Roldan explained with typical humility. “It was a great cross and a great header by Chad. I think it might of gone if I wasn’t there. Just redirected it and it just happened to go in the back of the net – very fortunate.”
Roldan was rightfully lauded as the man of the match afterward. The national television audience turning in for the derby might have only been given a glimpse, but the midfielder has been stellar throughout 2017. Roldan has played every minute of every game so far this season, and if he lacks an eye-catching stat that fully captures his influence, he ranks in the top tier of MLS in both tackles and passing percentage.
There’s a case to be made that Roldan has been the Sounders’ player of the season to this point in the young campaign.
Joevin Jones, the ascendant left back, is first runner-up. Osvaldo Alonso has been his typically dominant self within the Sounders midfield. Lodeiro hasn’t been quite as statistically productive as he was during the latter part of last year, after he joined the club from Argentina’s Boca Juniors, but he, too, has played a major role. Gustav Svensson has done an admirable job of filling in along the back line.
Yet nobody has been as central as Roldan, literally and figuratively, to how Seattle has been able to ride out early turbulence to stay within touching distance of the Western Conference playoff spots.
Roldan has been capturing a lot of attention this year. Will he capture Bruce Arena’s?
On the back end of consecutive, low-frills 1-0 home victories over Salt Lake and Portland, the Sounders can improbably vault themselves from eighth to fourth place with a win at Columbus on Wednesday night. They have Roldan’s continued development to thank for the opportunity.
Seattle’s attack has looked out of sorts. Lodeiro and Clint Dempsey are still getting used to one another. Jordan Morris has shifted from forward to winger and back again, with Will Bruin filling the void while the second-year Homegrown Player searches for how he best fits into this team.
The defense has been wracked by injuries from the outset. Brad Evans just recently returned from a knock suffered at U.S. national team camp. Panamanian center back Roman Torres has been in and out of the lineup.
The one constant has been the defensive midfield line of Roldan and Alonso, which has provided stability and a spine to build around as the Sounders consolidate their MLS Cup title defense. Coach Brian Schmetzer was effusive in his praise for Roldan after the Timbers win.
“His overall effort, and work rate, and thinking and his tactical acumen,” Schmetzer said when asked about the midfielder’s attributes.
“We like to push up the field on the left-hand side. Clint likes that little left-hand pocket. Cristian had to deal with (Diego) Valeri and (David) Guzman in the first half and a bunch of midfielders. But he was also able to cover the left-back position as needed when Joevin and Deuce were in there. He had a massive performance.”
My favorite description of Roldan’s game is that of a “space occupier.” It’s not exactly evocative, but it is accurate.
He always seems to be where his teammates need him when looking for an outlet. Perhaps even more importantly, he forever tends to clog opponents’ passing lanes to make life more difficult on them. See: the second half against Portland.
The Timbers had plenty of the ball on Saturday, and outshot their rivals 19 to 8. But they never really broke the Sounders down, and clear-cut chances were hard to come by. Every time the visitors seemed about to break free, they were stymied by timely tackles from either Roldan or Alonso. They gummed up the works.
This has been something of a theme. The Sounders have been mostly frustrating to watch so far this season. They have lacked for fluidity going forward; something has just felt off. The defense feels like it is just barely hanging on for 90 minutes at a time.
But a midfield as good as Seattle’s can cover up many flaws. Alonso has been a rock – that’s almost been a given from the dawn of the club’s MLS era. The growth of his partner has taken the Cuban’s influence to another level.
Cristian Roldan was the man of the match on Saturday. He’s also been the player of Seattle’s season, and the main reason to think that there could be better days ahead.
